Literature In the novel
Red Dragon, Lounds attempts to elicit information from
Will Graham as Graham investigates
serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, whom Lounds has sensationally publicized as "The Tooth Fairy". Graham despises Lounds, who had sneaked into Graham's hospital room after Graham was attacked by Lecter, and taken pictures of his wounds, publishing them the next day in the
Tattler. Lounds becomes aware of secret correspondence between the killer and the now-imprisoned Lecter, and sneaks into a crime scene to get information. He is caught, however, and threatened with imprisonment unless he cooperates with the investigation. Hoping to lure Dolarhyde into a trap, Graham gives Lounds an interview in which he blatantly misrepresents the killer as an
impotent homosexual and the product of
incest. This infuriates Dolarhyde, who kidnaps Lounds, glues him to an antique wheelchair, shows him slides of his victims, and forces him to recant the published allegations into a tape recorder. Dolarhyde then shows his face to Lounds, bites his lips off and sets him on fire, leaving his maimed body outside the
Tattlers offices. Lounds eventually dies in the hospital with his girlfriend Wendy at his side, but not before providing information to aid in the hunt for Dolarhyde. Lecter sends Graham a note congratulating him on Lounds' death, which "implies that the Tooth Fairy's murder of reporter Freddy Lounds is at least a sort of wish-fulfillment for Graham". In the film, Dolarhyde (portrayed by
Tom Noonan) puts something in his mouth that can not clearly be seen and taunts Lounds, before "[c]utting to an exterior night shot of the killer's house... lets Lounds's distant, muffled screams tell the real story".
Jack Crawford (
Laurence Fishburne) and Dr. Alana Bloom (
Caroline Dhavernas) make a deal with Lounds to write a story about Dr. Abel Gideon (
Eddie Izzard), a patient at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane who has murdered a nurse. The murder was committed in a manner reminiscent of a serial killer called the Chesapeake Ripper, who hasn't been active in two years, the same number of years Gideon has been incarcerated. Hoping to provoke the real Ripper into making himself visible, Bloom and Crawford have Lounds write that Gideon is believed to be the Chesapeake Ripper. Lounds attempts to convince Abigail to let her write a book about her father, both for monetary gain and to clear Abigail of involvement in her father's crimes. This is met with grave concern from Graham and Lecter, both of whom have helped Abigail cover up her "accidental murder" of Boyle's brother. In that episode, Lounds also joins Graham and Abigail for a dinner served by Lecter, but whereas the other guests dine on meat, Lounds informs them that she is a vegetarian. Lounds' involvement in publishing the Gideon story comes around when Gideon escapes from custody and begins murdering the psychiatrists who attempted to treat him. Gideon lures Lounds into a trap by pretending to be one of those psychiatrists who wishes to be interviewed by her. Gideon instead shows Lounds the psychiatrist's dead body, and forces her to write an article about him. He also makes her assist as he surgically removes organs from still-conscious hospital psychiatrist
Dr. Frederick Chilton (
Raúl Esparza), with the intention of leaving a "gift basket" for the Ripper. When the FBI arrives at the scene, Gideon has fled, and Lounds must keep Chilton alive with a respirator.
Season 2 In season 2, Lounds is a witness in Graham's murder trial. She falsely testifies that Abigail Hobbs had told her that she was afraid of Graham, but Graham's attorney elicits the fact that Lounds has been sued for
libel six times, and has settled in each case. An anonymous tip brings Lounds back to the observatory she and Chilton were taken to by Gideon, where she finds the body of FBI agent Beverly Katz (
Hetienne Park), sectioned vertically and displayed in tableau. When Graham is brought to the crime scene, Lounds photographs him being removed from an FBI van in restraints. Lounds interviews Graham, who agrees to give her exclusive rights to his life story, in order to persuade her to write an article through which Graham can contact the killer of the bailiff and the judge at his trial. Lounds arrives at Graham's house and investigates his locked barn; inside, she finds the bloodied "animal suit" of serial killer Randall Tier (
Mark O'Brien), along with his jawbone, in Graham's meat stores. Graham then appears and, when Lounds flees and calls Crawford, overpowers her. Joining Lecter for dinner, Graham provides the meat, which he calls "
long pig"; it is implied to be Lounds' flesh. In the following episode, however, it is revealed that Lounds is still alive, and is conspiring with Graham and Crawford to draw Lecter out. Lecter is able to detect this through Lounds' scent on Graham.
Season 3 Lounds first appears in season 3 during the second arc, when Graham is called out of retirement three years after Lecter's arrest to profile a serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy". She sees Graham leaving the institution where Lecter is confined, and later as Graham leaves a crime scene he discovers Lounds on the property. He berates her for taking photos of him while he was in the hospital, and for writing that he and Lecter were co-conspirators. Lounds seeks information from Graham, promising in exchange not to portray him in a bad light in the news; Graham refuses. Later, the killer, Francis Dolarhyde (
Richard Armitage), is seen reading Lounds' article, which inspires him to contact Lecter. Graham and Crawford later call upon Lounds to write a story in which Graham and Chilton describe "The Tooth Fairy" as ugly, impotent and the product of
incest, in the hopes of making Dolarhyde angry enough to make a mistake. In this continuity, however, it is Chilton, not Lounds, who is disfigured and burned by Dolarhyde. ==References==